2020 is barely two months away and we can already see how digital marketing strategies will have to be updated for the coming year.
Major changes are already taking place in the digital marketing sphere and we look at how marketers can update their monthly reports to reflect these changes.
Here are the digital marketing areas that are going to change in 2020 with key takeaways for adapting to them.
Content Marketing
Rumors of the death of content marketing are exactly that—rumors. Content marketing is going nowhere. In fact, in 2020, content is going to become even more important.
There are a number of reasons for this. For one, text-based content continues to showcase the thought leadership of brands.
Denizens of the internet—despite decreasing attention spans—prefer to read long and thorough articles. Lengthy pieces of over 1500 words that are detailed and well-researched tend to get more traction than short pieces, though articles of 300-500 words also have their place.
Of course, the most important aspect of content marketing is how intrinsically it is tied into search engine results—content is still the best way to rank on Google.
But the kind of content you create will have to change slightly in 2020. While your digital marketing strategy should definitely continue to focus on written content, it is imperative that marketers find a way to make their content more interactive.
360 degree videos, games, polls, interactive quizzes, and AR/ VR are all going to become a new way to use content to engage audiences.
There is yet another way that content marketing is going to be coming to the fore in 2020—through chatbot marketing.
Chatbots are being used across social media and websites, and to make the most of these chatbots, great content is required.
Key Takeaways
- Don’t stop writing blogs, articles, and long-form pieces
- Research and invest in technology that will make your content more interactive
- The way to make sophisticated chatbots is to feed them high quality content
Graphic Design in Digital Marketing
We are going to see a massive change in the graphic design trends of 2020. The design trends of the last few years have been focused on bright colors and gradients, but not anymore.
While the color palettes of 2020 will continue to be diverse, the colors being used will have to be muted—the addition of a white or black base can achieve this effect.
And there will be an impact on the stock images that are used in the digital marketing sphere—the muted color palette will extend to all other imagery.
Gradients will continue to be used but in a slightly different way—instead of being incorporated into backgrounds, gradients will be used to highlight graphics and as color filters.
Heavy fonts will become the go-to for designers—which will tie into the new trend of minimalist landing pages.
On the other hand, illustrations will become more complex and abstract—they are set to take on a more dreamy texture, with more flowing lines and a reliance on natural textures.
Key Takeaways
- Adapt your current color palette to a more muted scheme
- Enlist designers who can create abstract illustrations
- Research heavy fonts and how to incorporate them into your designs
Social Media Marketing
Personalization is going to become a key factor in how brands reach their audiences through digital marketing. And this will impact social media marketing in 2020.
The kind of data points that marketers examine on social media will change—instead of looking at demographics, there needs to be a focus on the way people engage with their interests.
Social monitoring will have to be ramped up to learn about how followers interact with a brand beyond social media platforms.
The kind of content brands post on social media will also be impacted—while video marketing has been gaining in popularity, it is live video that is seeing the most engagement.
Even influencer marketing is set to change in 2020—while influencers will continue to play a role in social media marketing, the kinds of influencers brands should collaborate with will be different.
Instead of focusing all resources on the biggest influencers, we are set to see a rise in microinfluencers—influencers with 10,000 followers or less.
These microinfluencers may not have huge followings but collaborations with them can be more impactful and profitable.
Key Takeaways
- Focus on more relevant data instead of vanity metrics
- Video marketing is changing, so create a live video strategy
- Invest in microinfluencers, not mega influencers
Marketing Technology
Technology is constantly being adapted and invented. In the digital marketing sphere in 2020, technology is going to impact the kind of content marketers create.
Immersive technologies like AR and VR have become massively popular on social media and in in-app marketing.
In other words, technology is driving up engagement and making a difference to the bottom line.
Alongside AR and VR, AI-powered chatbots and software—for collecting and sorting through data as well as creating connections between various systems—will become the norm.
These are the kind of technologies that are allowing marketers to create interactive content (as we have mentioned earlier).
Key Takeaways
- Find ways to incorporate AR and VR into social media marketing
- Link AR and branded apps for increased engagement
- Invest in AI to power chatbots and data collection
Search Engine Marketing
Search engines are massively important in digital marketing—mainly because they are the primary method of marketing to audiences.
With the use of the right keywords and link building strategies, brands can ensure that their content is seen on the very first page of a Google search.
But this technique is set to become harder in 2020. For one, Google has updated its algorithms to promote only one post from a brand on each page.
Additionally, there’s Google’s zero search feature—where Google itself answers a searcher’s question before they can even get to the ads or posts.
The rise of devices like Alexa and Amazon Echo have brought voice search into the fore—this will impact the kind of keywords and key phrases marketers use.
Key Takeaways
- Continue to work on keywords and link building
- Restructure headlines and page text to rank zero
- Use longer phrases to adapt to voice search
Adapt Your Digital Marketing Strategy Today
Digital marketing is going to undergo some major changes in 2020 but there are ways to adapt your strategy.
The above areas of digital marketing will see the biggest updates next year and our key takeaways will help your marketing team adapt to these changes.
Ronita Mohan is a content marketer at Venngage, an infographic maker and design platform. She enjoys writing about content marketing, productivity, design, the digital world, as well as pop culture, and diversity.
Twitter: @Venngage
